Letters -- Published Aug. 16, 2013

Why so much ado over the Trayvon Martin case? Did it not follow due process as prescribed under the law?

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Posted Aug. 16, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Posted Aug. 16, 2013 at 12:01 AM

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Why so much ado over the Trayvon Martin case? Did it not follow due process as prescribed under the law?

It appears that there are many who criticize the American way of justice. If this is true, should they not try to change the system from within the system, not by illegal means?

Are they aware, too, of a child by the name of Antonio West, who may not have received as much notoriety in the media? Antonio was a 13-month-old child in Georgia who was shot and killed by two teenagers who attempted to rob his mother. They shot and killed Antonio in the process.

Did the media make a big deal about this? No. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the president didn't address this, did they?

Since the teenagers who killed Antonio were not faced with the death penalty, shouldn't someone of political power have addressed the issue? All Antonio did was be white and live in a neighborhood that was 73 percent non-white.

Wouldn't it seem fair in light of the sensationalism over the Trayvon Martin case that some authority address the issue?

So, please tell me, who is being discriminatory? Is it the justice system, the man who killed Trayvon Martin, the media, who?

Joe Larranaga

Stockton

» NOTE: Two teenagers have been arrested in the March shooting death of a 13-month-old boy named Antonio Santiago, who was in his stroller, according to police in Brunswick, Ga. The child's mother was also shot in the attack. The suspects were arrested the next day. They are a 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy. The case, which has received national attention, has yet to go to trial.

My friend and I wanted to check out the Bus Stop, the new coffeehouse that used to be the Blackwater Cafe. The walls of the new place are graced by Volkswagen paraphernalia.

We had breakfast and coffee, but what impressed me the most was the jukebox. I made my selections and we sat in our booth for about a half an hour listening to the Doors. How cool was that?

Maureen O'Reilly

Stockton

After reading the letters to the editor this morning, I felt someone needed to reacquaint fellow citizens with an organization here in San Joaquin County run by the Sheriff's Office.

We are the volunteers of STARS (Sheriff's Team of Active Retired Seniors), and we perform many services to the department five days per week and sometimes on weekends.

We cover special events; assist with traffic control; have an errand runner who makes pickups and deliveries to save paid employees from having to do them; and we have our own team of people who patrol.

STARS is divided into eight patrol areas, each one with a patrol vehicle to go into the communities to be the "eyes and ears" of the deputies.

Most of us know about the severe cutbacks that have affected all public services the past few years. Public Works is no exception.

They pick up trash but can't possibly keep up with those who do not take responsibility for proper and legal disposal.

STARS do not cost the taxpayers anything. They are performing tasks that allow the deputies and civilians of the Sheriff's Office "... to save the manpower ... for more worthwhile projects."

I've been a STAR since 2005, and I would like to invite those who are retired and/or older than 50 to look into STARS as a valuable volunteer organization to join, and to be of service to the county.